As the US hits new highs in reported new daily cases of the coronavirus, the US Conference of Mayors released a study showing American cities will lose $1.5 trillion in economic output for 2020, a drop of 8.8%.
That amounts to $14,500 per household in more than 350 US metro areas.
The study forecasts annual average unemployment to be higher than 10% in those 161 metro areas through the end of the year, and at least 8% in all metro areas.
Conference president, Greg Fischer, mayor of Louisville, Kentucky told CNN, “Our budgets have really been hurt, some decimated, by this pandemic. Rising costs to deal with the pandemic and falling tax revenue have been a double whammy on cities.”
In most cities, the current spread of the virus will cause additional losses, with hospitality and tourism being the hardest hit. The report notes that 38% of the job losses in March and April–and 47% of the job gains that rebounded May and June–were in that market sector, which will likely suffer again as new cases spike.
The report concludes that the coronavirus pandemic, and the ensuing the surge of COVID cases and hospitalizations, will cause an unprecedented level of economic uncertainty that will last long beyond the end of the year.